Tuesday, July 10, 2012

It is a delight and an honor to have the work of Ezra Jack Keats on exhibit at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. In the mid-1960's, when I was just getting started as an illustrator of books for children, a friend of mine offered to introduce me to Ezra Keats, a Caldecott Medal Winner. The truth was, I did not know what the Caldecott Medal was or meant at that early stage of my career.

Soon afterward, I was fortunate to have lunch with the very kind and warm Ezra Jack Keats. After lunch, Ezra invited me to his studio where he showed me how he created his beautiful marbled papers. We talked about the business of publishing, he explained so much to me. And he assured me -- I had not quite made the leap of faith into the new direction I was heading -- a living could be made from illustrating books for children.

So, from strangers to colleagues, we soon became friends. We had dinners together and went to parties at each other's apartments in the Village or the Upper Eastside. I was a greenhorn at the threshold of the world of picture book making, and he an experienced professional who reached out to me, such a kind and generous spirit.

I hope you will enjoy the exhibit of his work and if you cannot see it at the Museum, enjoy his wonderful books.

Ezra Jack Keats, 1973. Photo: Beverly Hall. The Snowy Day and The Art of Ezra Jack Keats is
organized by The Jewish Museum, New York, from the collection of the de
Grummond Children's Literature Collection, The University of Southern
Mississippi. The exhibition was funded at The Jewish Museum through a generous
grant from the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. Additional support was provided by
the Joseph Alexander Foundation, the Alfred J. Grunebaum Fund, and the Winnick
Family Foundation. Exhibition
support at The Carle has been generously provided by Penguin Young Readers
Group and the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation.

About Me

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is one of the more than 70 picture books that I have written and/or illustrated. I was born in the U.S. and was raised in Germany. My background is in graphic design but since the late 1960's when I illustrated Bill Martin Jr's Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? I have been creating books for children. My illustrations are collages made with my own hand-painted tissue papers, a technique many children have replicated and enjoyed in their classrooms and at home. With my wife Barbara, I am also the cofounder of The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA.